SHFE 1709 Tin Ends with Small Gains (2017-8-25)

Micron Technology will provide strategic funding for Indium Corporation to expand refining and high-purity materials manufacturing at its Rome, New York facility and restart domestic processing of critical minerals used in advanced semiconductors. The companies will also enter a long-term supply agreement giving Micron access to the resulting materials. Indium Corporation’s existing Rome operations cover indium-, gallium-, germanium- and tin-based compounds. The agreement therefore strengthens a potential U.S. pathway for high-purity indium materials. However, the companies did not identify the minerals covered, investment amount, capacity increase or commissioning schedule, so no incremental indium supply can yet be quantified.

Researchers at IIT Mandi and Amity University in India developed a reusable thermally conductive gel that passively cools silicon solar cells. It blends polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with tin-coated and tin-filled carbon nanotubes (Sn-CNTs) at 0.5, 0.7 and 1.4 wt%. Tin was chosen for its wettability, low 232 C melting point and compatibility with carbon nanomaterials, enabling uniform CNT coating. The 0.7 wt% formulation lowered a commercial polycrystalline silicon cell's operating temperature by 9.5 C and raised power conversion efficiency from 12.5% to 13.2% under simulated sunlight. After 40 days it retained 12%; efficiency reached 13.3% after water soaking and reuse. Thermal conductivity was 3.2 W/mK and mechanical strength 0.21 kPa. The study, published in Solar Energy, did not detail costs.

Residents of Batu Beriga village, Bangka Tengah Regency in Indonesia's Bangka-Belitung Islands, rely on traditional coastal fishing for their livelihood. Local media report two forms of mining activity in their traditional fishing grounds: state-owned tin producer PT Timah holds an official mining business license (IUP) in the area; separately, small informal mining equipment operates daily at sites located roughly 100 meters from residential housing and a local school. On October 9, representatives of Batu Beriga villagers, accompanied by members of the Bangka-Belitung provincial parliament (DPRD) and the Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI), visited the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) in Jakarta. They submitted two requests: the revocation of PT Timah's mining license in the Batu Beriga waters, and the formal designation of the area as a fishing-only zone closed to mining. On October 22, the Bangka-Belitung DPRD held a public hearing at its assembly hall in the provincial capital Pangkal Pinang. The session was chaired by Deputy Speaker Edi Nasapta, with Batu Beriga villagers giving testimony. Speaking to reporters afterward, Edi said that all political factions in the provincial parliament had reached a shared position to support a revision of the Coastal and Small Islands Spatial Zoning Plan (RZWP3K), under which Batu Beriga waters would be legally designated as a zero-mining area reserved for fishermen. He added that the revision process has so far proceeded smoothly without major obstacles, while noting that technical documentation will require adequate preparation time to ensure a sound legal basis.